Did they just see it as something which was shiny and didn't rust, and didn't place much value on it beyond decoration? Or did it have value well before the conquistadors arrived? I'm well aware of the European value for gold, but I'm interested in knowing the Aztecs view of it before the Wests devastating contact with them.
The Aztec Empire had gold in abundance and thus it was not valued much. Gold was used in crafts and not much else. In the barter economy of the Aztec empire, cacao beans were much more prized as trade goods. Jewelry made of gold could get a few beans depending on the quality, but in relation to other goods the value of raw gold was very little.
In fact in the Nahuatl language, which the Aztecs spoke, the word for gold is teocuitlatl which can be translated to either mean "wonderful waste" or "excrement of the gods".